Family Occasions, Speaking Heart to Heart

September 24, 2024 Hi!   How is each and every one?   I am trying my best to catch up.   I am determined to make this one within this week. It is amazing that within a week many positive and negative surprises come up as though making this chapter come alive. It is equally amazing how negative situations are drowned by positive ones owing to not taking the negative things seriously as obstructions to the way of positive situations to come alive. I was made to realize and understand that traffic, road repairs, rain and   sunshine are part and parcel of our daily ordinary life regardless of whether we are heading to office or to school or simply work at home, or from home. Once again the words of St Augustine have become my favorite reminder: “ Bad times, hard times, this is what people keep saying; but let us live well, and times shall be good.   We are the times! Such as we are, such is our own.” Fr. Fernando Ocariz: “To bring the world closer to God, w...

September 17, 2024 Benedictine Center   Hi!   How is each and every one?   These past days I have been going to the wake of my niece in law who according to her attending doctor was inflicted by a very rare malignant cancer. Signs of its presence showed less   than a month and a half ago. It was fast growing and in constant movement; the surgeon said he was not going to operate on her because the cancer is growing in size and moving to different places. Life has become short in these times.   Only God knows what He is allowing to happen, only He knows best, trust in Him, abandon all your cares to Him and take care of your relationship with Him all the more during the day and every day. From one of her close friends I gathered that my niece in law in some of their get togethers some years ago, would complain of head ache and one time she held on to her because she was dizzy. But you know she is a runner, a swimmer, sportive type of person.   The best new...

September 10, 2024 Hi!  How is each and every one? Last Sunday, September 8, was Mama Mary’s birthday.  How did you celebrate her birthday?  A group of friends went on an excursion to Liliw, Laguna, another group went for a pilgrimage to Our Lady in a newly constructed Church along Calamba, Quezon City, another one went to a farm in Morong, Rizal and after lunch prayed with the staff the Rosary to Our Lady and another group of young students prepared food boxes for the poor families in Sampaloc, Manila area. Doubtless, Our Lady must be happy and smiling at these daughters of hers who in any way they can show her the love and affection that is due her.  I found another article on the virtue of justice in opusdei.org.  It is a question and answer format that is very enlightening; it certainly answers questions in our mind and gives us suggestions on how to practice the virtue in carrying out our daily life’s duties and activities especially in our daily work a...

September 3, 2024         Hi!  How is each and every one?  Yesterday, I discovered the following in one of my readings and considerations.  What are the signs that help us discern that God is present. First, we have to remember that God does not contradict himself; he will not ask us for anything that goes against Jesus’ teaching, as found in Holy Scripture and taught by the Church. Nor will he suggest something opposed to our vocation. Secondly, we have to consider what the inspirations imply. A tree is known by its fruits (cf.  Mt  7:16-20); and as Saint Paul said,  the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control  ( Gal  5:22-23).   The spiritual tradition of the Church has been constant in its teaching that “the Spirit of God unfailingly produces peace in our souls, and the devil unfailingly produces agitation.”   (Jacques ...